Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki was forced to leave Sunday's win over the Trail Blazers due to a sore left ankle. Nowitzki said he came down funny on his left ankle during the second quarter of the 96-91 win, but he was initially able to stay in the game. He got his ankle re-taped at halftime, but decided to shut himself down after struggling in the third quarter. “I said at the start of the fourth it’s a little stiff, and I decided to just sit this one,” Nowitzki told the Dallas Morning News. “Obviously, it got a lot closer than we were hoping for so we had to grind it out down the stretch. I think I jumped for a rebound in the second quarter and must have landed wrong or something. I must have irritated my bone spurs.“